Oftentimes in College Football, a fanbase knows a head coach won't work out before the school is even close to willing to make a move. The biggest reason that schools often hang onto a coach much longer than they should is the fact that buyouts exist. In a weird way, the best job in America is being a fired College Football coach as you get paid a massive sum to stop working.
When a program has to go out and get its guy, it often takes a massive amount to lure him to the new school. That massive contract comes back to bite a program when it's clear their new head coach isn't the man for the job, but he's too expensive to fire.
These 3 College Football coaches are too expensive to fire
By the end of Ed Orgeron and Les Miles' 3rd seasons, both had one National Championship at LSU, while it took Nick Saban 4 years. After Saturday's loss to Vanderbilt, Brian Kelly is likely going to make it 4 seasons where the Tigers miss the College Football Playoffs. This is an All-In roster LSU built, yet the team isn't good enough to beat Vanderbilt. The fanbase is out on Brian Kelly, but they're stuck with him as his buyout is massive, as it sits above $50 million fully guaranteed.
The Wisconsin Badgers swung for the fences when they hired Luke Fickell, and this season has proved that the move won’t work out. The Badgers are 2-5 on the season and 0-4 in Big Ten play, getting shut out in their last two losses. The only reason that Wisconsin may not pull the trigger is the fact that they’d owe him around $25 million to fire him.
Florida State, being afraid that Mike Norvell would get hired to replace Nick Saban, may go down as one of their biggest regrets. Ever since the 2023 season, Mike Norville has a record of 5-14 with a 1-11 record in ACC play. The past two seasons have been such a disaster that the only reason Mike Norvell will likely keep his job is the fact that Florida State would owe him around $60 million to move on.